Craigieburn Rep head coach Ashleigh Nixon said her club has flourished since joining the NFNL netball competition.
Craigieburn Rep has two teams competing in the 2017/2018 summer netball season, with both undefeated at the Christmas break.
The on-court success resulted in both sides moving up to a higher section after a month of competition.
Craigieburn Rep’s first side is currently sitting in second place on the Section 1 ladder with a 4-0 record, while the club’s second team is also just percentage off top spot on the Section 2 ladder after starting the summer season with five-successive wins.
Nixon said her club was enjoying its time in the NFNL ahead of the resumption of the summer season next week.
“It’s great. The girls are really enjoying it, we’re really enjoying it,” Nixon said.
“We popped the teams up a section for a bit more competition. Obviously not really knowing what the competition was like, we judged where we should be.
“We’ve got a team up in Section 1 now, which is great because I think it should see us have some high teams in the winter season.”
Craigieburn Rep became the NFNL’s fourth netball-only affiliate when it joined the league in October after previously playing at the State Netball and Hockey Centre in Parkville.
Nixon said the proximity of the league’s netball venues made it a logical decision to switch to the NFNL.
“We’ve recently had more players from the Broadford and Wallan area join the club,” she said.
“As they get a bit older travelling to the city becomes an issue for them and they tend to look elsewhere and other nights to play.
“We thought it was time to bite the bullet and perhaps give them the opportunity to continue playing with the club at a different venue on a different night and that might entice them to stick around.”
Craigieburn Rep will aim to field as many as five teams in the winter season, with the club’s final trials to be held on Sunday February 11 at Craigieburn Sports Stadium.
Nixon hoped the club’s strong form in the summer competition would appeal to prospective new players.
“We’ve held a couple of trials over the last few months. This is the final one before teams are set so we really want to get the word out there,” she said.
“Playing in the summer comp has probably helped as well because people have seen us down there as well and are aware that we have teams entering and that we are doing well, which is an advantage as well if people are out there looking at our name.”
For more details on Craigieburn Rep’s netball trials, please visit http://nfnl.org.au/netball-trials-craigieburn-rep-netball-club.
